More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #437 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Morton was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Morton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Morton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #437 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morton’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Morton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Morton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Morton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Morton is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,117 at the 2020 census. The community holds a yearly Morton Pumpkin Festival for four days every September, and claims that "99 percent of the world's canned pumpkin is produced in Morton," earning it the designation "Pumpkin Capital of the World".
Its first post office opened in 1842. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 16,267 to 17,117 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Morton, 1878–1916
Passages that mention Morton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Tazewell county, Illinois1879 · page 535Read the page →
Read the text
The original village of Morton was laid out by J. M. Campbell, in October, 1850, in the form of a triangle, comprising about five and one-half acres of land. Since then he has made several additions.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Morton was sitting on a couch in conversation with Mr. Archibald, and where, at a short distance from the same couch, Cornet Wynum and Henry Morton were sometimes chatting, sometimes giving ear to the music.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Souvenir of early and notable events in the history of the North West territory, Illinois, and Tazewell County, including the names of those who have served the county in various official capacities1916 · page 22Read the page →
Read the text
Morton township was named in honor of Gov. Morton, of Massachussetts. The first election was held at W. W. Campbell's. A Mr. Soward settled on Section 31, about 1826 or 1827. and built the first pioneer log cabin. He was soon followed by a Mr. Field, Richard Rathff, Mr. Crosby. John M. Roberts and four sons. Rev. William Brown was the first regular minister. In 1832, section 4 contained the first log school-house. Like nearly all pioneer school-houses, it was used for church and town meeting purposes. The first Justices of the Peace were Joseph Evans and Wm. Sample.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Tazewell county, Illinois1879 · page 539Read the page →
Read the text
second lieutenant of Co. C, and in 1865 was promoted to first lieutenant, which he resigned in 1866, when he returned home and engaged in farming. On 17th October, 1867, was married to Minerva B. Gay, of Morton township, Taze\yell Co., 111. He moved to the town of Morton in 1875. In April, 1877, he was elected J. P., and has held that position to the present time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Morton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Morton post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Morton rank for history?
Morton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #437 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Morton?
7% of Morton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1974.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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